Take a photo of a barcode or cover
603 reviews for:
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
Therese Oneill
3.76 AVERAGE
603 reviews for:
Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners
Therese Oneill
3.76 AVERAGE
I'm not sure I've read a book with such a unique, snarky voice, à la the website "Jezebel". At points it was helpful because the descriptions of how women were expected to act, dress, etc are so foreign to us today. But at sometimes it was just over the top. Overall I think her approach was effective.
An absolutely hilarious look at the lives of women in Victorian times as told by a 21st century woman. This book reminded me that when I'm readying historical fiction and romancing the story as this beautiful tale of simpler times it's really a crock. If simpler times means filthy living conditions, rampant food borne illness, and being treated like a glorified door mat, no thanks ! ☺️
funny
informative
fast-paced
Michelle Araujo's review sums up my issues with this book perfectly (although the use of American and Canadian examples didn't bother me too much).
If it hadn't been such a quick read, I'd have DNF'd it most likely. I did learn some things, but anyone who has read any history about the Victorian era beyond the fiction of the time will know much of the info contained within. The lack of clear focus, both in chapters as a whole and in their subsections, also annoyed me to no end. And the hypocritical dissing of Victorians not using proper citations being immediately followed by uncited facts (to be completely fair, there is a bibliography at the end, but not a notes section of actual citations) just made me facepalm every time.
Really, it felt like it was made more for a saucy gossipy book club read than a true non-fiction book.
If it hadn't been such a quick read, I'd have DNF'd it most likely. I did learn some things, but anyone who has read any history about the Victorian era beyond the fiction of the time will know much of the info contained within. The lack of clear focus, both in chapters as a whole and in their subsections, also annoyed me to no end. And the hypocritical dissing of Victorians not using proper citations being immediately followed by uncited facts (to be completely fair, there is a bibliography at the end, but not a notes section of actual citations) just made me facepalm every time.
Really, it felt like it was made more for a saucy gossipy book club read than a true non-fiction book.
CONTENT WARNING: body image !
This book is informative and hilarious, and the author takes on a tongue-in-cheek tone, "scolding" the reader for not conforming to Victorian values. That said, there were times when she was insulting the reader's body using the language of the era that could definitely be triggering for anyone who struggles with body image issues (especially since many of the shitty things they thought about women's bodies back then, some people still think now).
This book is informative and hilarious, and the author takes on a tongue-in-cheek tone, "scolding" the reader for not conforming to Victorian values. That said, there were times when she was insulting the reader's body using the language of the era that could definitely be triggering for anyone who struggles with body image issues (especially since many of the shitty things they thought about women's bodies back then, some people still think now).
funny
informative
medium-paced
Go read this! It will make you laugh, it will make you appreciate modern medicine, it will remind you that we've actually come pretty far in smashing the patriarchy. Witty and clever, while still being informative about life for (upper class, Western) women in the Victorian era. If you're in need of a break from the current soul-crushing trudge of current affairs, I cannot recommend this enough.
Go read this! It will make you laugh, it will make you appreciate modern medicine, it will remind you that we've actually come pretty far in smashing the patriarchy. Witty and clever, while still being informative about life for (upper class, Western) women in the Victorian era. If you're in need of a break from the current soul-crushing trudge of current affairs, I cannot recommend this enough.
Hilarious take on the subject with a lot of solid, detailed information on life in the late nineteenth century. Primarily focused on the upper-class, but sprinkled in some information through the classes to provide a (slightly) more wholistic look at the era. (It is at least very honest about its bias and calls attention to it several times.) I laughed out loud many times while reading, and highly encourage readers to check out the audiobook for the fantastic performance by the narrators.
2.5 stars. I almost finished this one but ran out of time before it was due back to the library. I found much of it interesting but it was such a slow read for me. And as other reviewers have mentioned, the author’s overly snarky tone grew tiresome very quickly. However, reading this book was a good reminder of the progress in women’s rights over the last two hundred years. And that we have further to go on that front.